Moqi

Pakistan remained unbeaten in the Asian Champions Trophy with a commanding 5-1 victory over hosts China at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir. This win propels Pakistan to second place in the standings, keeping their semifinal hopes alive with one day left in the league stage.

Pakistan’s goals came from Rehman Abdul (23′), Ahmad Nadeem (36′, 56′), and Hannan Shahid (46′, 60′). China’s sole goal was scored by Jiesheng Gao (48′). India leads the table, followed by Pakistan in second, Korea in third, and Malaysia surpassing China after Friday’s results.

The match started with China making several advances but failing to break through Pakistan’s defense. After a goalless first quarter, Pakistan picked up the pace. Despite missing an initial penalty corner, Abdul scored in the 23rd minute, and Nadeem added another in the 36th minute. Although China’s goalkeeper, Weihao Wang, saved a penalty stroke, Pakistan’s Hannan Shahid scored from a penalty corner in the 46th minute to make it 3-0. Gao’s goal for China in the 48th minute offered brief respite, but Nadeem and Shahid added two more goals in the final minutes to seal the 5-1 win.

Hannan Shahid, named Hero of the Match, praised his team’s effort, saying it is a team achievement. We have learned from each game and improved, and today, we only conceded one card, and the team’s support helped me score, he added.